Orcs
Classification: Wild Races
Race: Half-Orc
Class: Ranger
Background: Wanderer, Outlander
Skill Proficiency: History, Nature, Survival
Orcs are a perceived as a brutish, warlike, unintelligent race by most other races, and it's a fairly accurate assumption as a whole. Orcs as a race do not value complex plans or rigorous preparation. They are creatures of action and impulse, and as such give little thought (some would say none at all) to planning, schemes, or plots. Furthermore, Orcs are violent and warlike by nature, nearly always choosing to solve issues with their fists rather than their words, and it is a common saying that "when a war ends, Orcs are already readying for the next one". This is likely direct result of their origins as a creation of the god Malavach, who revels in carnage and bloodshed. That said, while Orcs naturally feel a strong inclination towards violence, they are not quite as unintelligent as other races tend to believe. Orcs are capable of reason, and some Orc tribes are structured into complex hierarchies. One of the biggest reasons other races view the Orcs as unintelligent is a lack of understanding when it comes to how Orcs reason. To most Orcs (indeed, all Orcs to some degree), violence and conflict are an end in and of themselves: A negotiator attempting to come to peace terms with an Orc tribe will most likely feel like they're talking to a brick wall, as they don't understand that the fighting itself is what an Orc wants, and thus concludes that an Orc Warboss is just stupid. It's not that Orcs are unable to reason, it's that their priorities are arguably opposite of most other races. This assumption that all Orcs are warmongering idiots has, over the centuries, led to some major losses by more "intelligent" races, as while the "warmongering" part is definitely accurate, the idiot part not so much. It is true that Orcs are less intelligent in a traditional sense than other races, but this, again, loops back to a completely different set of priorities. Were one to be in the (very unlikely) situation where they sit and had a conversation with an Orc Warboss regarding methods of warfare or killing, one might find them to in fact be very intelligent. If you were to ask them to do complex mathematics however, you'd almost definitely be met with a blank stare and likely a large fist to the face if the Orc thinks you're mocking them. It's not necessarily that Orcs are incapable of intelligent thought, rather that they place virtually zero value on refined learning or theoretical concepts, things which most other races view with at least some degree of importance. Surprisingly to those who do not understand Orc culture, Orcs can become astoundingly adept Druids and, in some cases, Sorcerers. Orcs as a race value the primal, the carnal, and the visceral, which makes them somewhat uniquely placed as a race to exceed in Wild Magic or any of the forms of Druidic craft. While an Orc Druid may not be silent, meditative, and contemplative like a Wood Elf Druid, they are nonetheless powerful forces of nature. While an Elven Druid might embody the wind through the trees of a sunlit forest, an Orc Druid is the crashing thunderstorm or raging wildfire that reshapes the world as it passes. While they are rare, as a certain degree of reflection and learning is necessary for such forms of magic, an Orc Druid or Wild Mage can be a truly fearsome sight to behold.
Class: Ranger
Background: Wanderer, Outlander
Skill Proficiency: History, Nature, Survival
Orcs are a perceived as a brutish, warlike, unintelligent race by most other races, and it's a fairly accurate assumption as a whole. Orcs as a race do not value complex plans or rigorous preparation. They are creatures of action and impulse, and as such give little thought (some would say none at all) to planning, schemes, or plots. Furthermore, Orcs are violent and warlike by nature, nearly always choosing to solve issues with their fists rather than their words, and it is a common saying that "when a war ends, Orcs are already readying for the next one". This is likely direct result of their origins as a creation of the god Malavach, who revels in carnage and bloodshed. That said, while Orcs naturally feel a strong inclination towards violence, they are not quite as unintelligent as other races tend to believe. Orcs are capable of reason, and some Orc tribes are structured into complex hierarchies. One of the biggest reasons other races view the Orcs as unintelligent is a lack of understanding when it comes to how Orcs reason. To most Orcs (indeed, all Orcs to some degree), violence and conflict are an end in and of themselves: A negotiator attempting to come to peace terms with an Orc tribe will most likely feel like they're talking to a brick wall, as they don't understand that the fighting itself is what an Orc wants, and thus concludes that an Orc Warboss is just stupid. It's not that Orcs are unable to reason, it's that their priorities are arguably opposite of most other races. This assumption that all Orcs are warmongering idiots has, over the centuries, led to some major losses by more "intelligent" races, as while the "warmongering" part is definitely accurate, the idiot part not so much. It is true that Orcs are less intelligent in a traditional sense than other races, but this, again, loops back to a completely different set of priorities. Were one to be in the (very unlikely) situation where they sit and had a conversation with an Orc Warboss regarding methods of warfare or killing, one might find them to in fact be very intelligent. If you were to ask them to do complex mathematics however, you'd almost definitely be met with a blank stare and likely a large fist to the face if the Orc thinks you're mocking them. It's not necessarily that Orcs are incapable of intelligent thought, rather that they place virtually zero value on refined learning or theoretical concepts, things which most other races view with at least some degree of importance. Surprisingly to those who do not understand Orc culture, Orcs can become astoundingly adept Druids and, in some cases, Sorcerers. Orcs as a race value the primal, the carnal, and the visceral, which makes them somewhat uniquely placed as a race to exceed in Wild Magic or any of the forms of Druidic craft. While an Orc Druid may not be silent, meditative, and contemplative like a Wood Elf Druid, they are nonetheless powerful forces of nature. While an Elven Druid might embody the wind through the trees of a sunlit forest, an Orc Druid is the crashing thunderstorm or raging wildfire that reshapes the world as it passes. While they are rare, as a certain degree of reflection and learning is necessary for such forms of magic, an Orc Druid or Wild Mage can be a truly fearsome sight to behold.
